The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) adopted the order, Proposition A – the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act, which called for the formation of the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District (RPOSD) and authorized a benefit assessment for preserving and protecting beaches, wildlife, parks, and natural lands. The proposition was put to voters in a special election on November 3, 1992.
Sixty-four percent of voters approved Proposition A, successfully establishing:
- RPOSD as a special district, whose boundary is coterminous with the Los Angeles County boundary;
- The benefit assessment area;
- The BOS acting in an ex officio capacity as the governing body of RPOSD. All powers and authority of RPOSD are vested in the BOS in its role as RPOSD’s Board of Directors;
- A 22-year term for the assessment; and
- Funding for specific projects and competitive grant programs.
Proposition A also established how RPOSD would be financed. This was supported by the 1992 Engineer’s Report, which presented the engineering analysis for Proposition A direct assessment on properties within the district, adopted and approved by the BOS in accordance with Public Resource Code, Section 5506.9.
As a result of the 1992 Proposition A, RPOSD awarded $540 million for the acquisition, development, rehabilitation, protection, and restoration of beaches, wildlife, parks, and natural lands; tree-planting; gang prevention and intervention; and improvement of recreation facilities for youth and senior citizens within Los Angeles County.